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≡ HOWMAN’S WARNING ≡
Following up on his pointed remarks at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s annual Symposium on Anti-Doping Science in September, the head of the Athletics Integrity Unit, David Howman (NZL) challenged his colleagues at the sixth World Conference on Doping in Sport in Busan (KOR) that more has to be done. Much more:
“The initiation and development of Code Compliance rules and processes, requiring minimum-level anti -doping activity across all Code signatories globally, has been a commendable achievement; an important building block.
“But let’s be honest and pragmatic – the system has stalled. Intentional dopers at elite level are evading detection. We are not effective enough nowadays in catching cheats. We have great education programmes which help but they don’t impact the intentional rule-breakers in elite sport.”
“Our ineffectiveness in dealing with those who are beating the rules is hurting the anti -doping movement’s credibility, with the resulting risk that our clean -sport message falls on deaf ears.”
Key to Howman’s remarks and following up on his USADA Symposium comments, was his insistence on not just better collaboration, but a change in motivation, and incentives. This is key for him:
● “We must move beyond compliance to a system that supports effective, ambitious anti-doping efforts. Can we collaborate across disciplines to get the best science, the best data, and the best testing? At the Athletics Integrity Unit, we pride ourselves on our demonstrated ability to catch elite athletes who are cheating. However, we acknowledge we are not catching enough of them and that significant improvements are necessary. So how can we be assisted?” (Emphasis added)
● “One step is to ensure Anti -Doping Organisations (ADOs) are supported with the best investigative and scientific tools – and incentivised to succeed. A renewed focus on scientific research with closer alignment between WADA and cutting-edge ADOs on research priorities and opportunities would be beneficial. The International Standards might be better scrutinized regularly to ensure they fully support investigative efforts to uncover doping.” (Emphasis added)
● “A second step would be to ensure all ADOs are properly motivated to pursue anti-doping excellence. It is too easy for an ADO to undertake compliance-based testing without any probability of catching sophisticated dopers. We suggest more transparency on anti-doping data will help and WADA can be proactive in promoting the pursuit of excellence in anti-doping – not just compliance.” (Emphasis added)
Howman closed by underlining the AIU approach that desires to go far beyond the simple mechanics of testing enough people to check the boxes on the next WADA audit:
“The AlU’s mantra is ‘the right test, the right athlete, the right time,’ underlining our adherence to intelligence-led, targeted anti-doping work.
“We recommend this approach and are happy to knowledge-share. We must all do better to support our clean athletes by catching the dirty ones, especially those at the pinnacle of sport.”
He said in September that a further change in approach and attitude will be needed to get to where the clean-sport movement wants to go:
“Have we devoted sufficient resources to determine what the cheats are now doing?
“Find out what the bad guys are up to before you have spent time and money attempting to catch them. Basic reasons for this are that those of us trying to catch them do not think like cheats, and do not look at how to beat the rules, just how to enforce them.
“People advising athletes how to break the rules might be lawyers, doctors, scientists, coaches, parents or others. All may have different ideas or ways. How to use the Whereabouts rules to dope yet avoid a 4-year penalty and perhaps accept a 2-year sanction.”
Howman rang the warning bell in September in Atlanta and now again in Busan in December. The question for 2026 is whether he remains alone.
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